Performance DRAM Upgrades Move to the Mac

Corsair is taking its DRAM upgrade business model to the Mac, announcing a new upgrade module for the MacBook and MacBook Pro.

Corsair is taking its DRAM upgrade business model to the Mac, announcing a new upgrade module for the MacBook and MacBook Pro.

On Thursday, Corsair announced the VSA4GSDSKIT667C4, what the company is calling the world's first high-performance memory module for the Mac, and faster than the standard upgrades. The PC2-5300, 4-Gbyte DDR-2 kit is priced at $159.99.

Given that Corsair and other vendors have been shipping upgrade solutions for the X86 PC market for years, the announcement is not all that surprising. According to Corsair, the modules are designed specifically for the latest Intel-based MacBook and MacBook Pro, which both use Intel chipsets; the MacBook Pro was updated with the Intel GM965 mobile chipset in February.

Mac memory upgrades have been available for years; however, the new Corsair modules use a 4-4-4-12 low-latency timing that the company claims will deliver up to 28 percent improvement over standard Mac memory upgrades.

"The Corsair brand is synonymous with high-performance PC memory modules," said Jack Peterson, vice president of corporate marketing at Corsair, in a statement. "These Mac Memory SODIMMs featuring new SPD settings in conjunction with our high-quality standard chip screening process allows Corsair to offer the first ever enhanced performance laptop memory for Mac."